Stocked my farm pond

Johnny said:
Sounds like our ponds are pretty similar..

Cast net, blender, dog food.. Happy dog..
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I had a German shepherd that loved fish. Every time I went fishing I would have to near 'bout fight him for whatever I caught. I would always throw him the little ones and he would sit right down and eat' em like candy.
 
Shrek said:
I had a German shepherd that loved fish. Every time I went fishing I would have to near 'bout fight him for whatever I caught. I would always throw him the little ones and he would sit right down and eat' em like candy.
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98# GSD, cant keep him out of the pond or ocean. He chops whatever we catch..
 
Bailey Boat said:
He could give a shit less about you or your pond, He's a resource for advanced information, nothing more, nothing less.....
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I called the local ag extension and they can do all the testing I need. Just drop off the samples with $5. They send it to Raleigh. They want both water and soil samples. Shits were given, btw.
;)

I hope to get a better idea of pH, alkalinity and hardness.
 
Slacker said:
I called the local ag extension and they can do all the testing I need. Just drop off the samples with $5. They send it to Raleigh. They want both water and soil samples. Shits were given, btw.
;)

I hope to get a better idea of pH, alkalinity and hardness.
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Without all of the pertinent info as you describe above it's all wasted effort and money. Once you get things sorted out and a little time goes by you'll have a killer pond for fishing.
My gun club uses the NCWRC experts and we have great fishing. They do ours for free because we allow them to use the class rooms for Hunter Safety and our ranges also, good relationship!!
 
Update in case anyone is following my adventures...


This past Saturday I spent an hour driving in circles with outboard motor. It mixed up the pond and put lots of oxygen in the water.
That evening I tossed out some puppy chow and saw one of my carp come up and grab a piece.
Very good sign!! I had not seen any of the recently stocked fish since the day I dumped them in.
I feared my $100 bill would have been better spent on Mc fish fillet sandwiches.

It has rained nearly every day since I added 1000lbs of lime. I'm not sure what the PH currently is. Rain is 5.5 ish so I bet it's still pretty low (acidic.)

No way to tell if the recent feeding behavior is from available oxygen, ph change, temp... or all three.

Fingers crossed that as the water warms, feeding activity increases and water clarity continues to improve.
 
Water clarity continues to improve, presumably as the ag lime increases the PH.

Catfish now come to the top to feed on fish chow alongside the carp and Bluegill.

The flathead cats are 6" +/-.
I read that they turn carnivorous about 12". That will be a good day. The bluegill are thick.

I asked the lady in the fish dept at petsmart for "free range" fish food since I was getting low on Ole Roy.
She looked at me like security was on their way.
 
I have vague memories of 50lb bags of trout chow and an automatic feeder installed at a pond. I can picture fishing that pond, but no idea when or where.

Have you bought a freshwater ph kit at the pet store? Cheap and accurate, would allow you to track the incorporation of the lime.
 
Slacker said:
Wish I could toss a net.
One of the skills I never could figure out.
I need instruction.
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If you are new to throwing a net get a 4-5' diameter net and soak it in dish soap and water the night before you plan to use it. Soakingit will make it limp and easier to handle. Anything larger is a pain to learn on. It would be a lot easier to show you but here goes a poor tutorial.
1) Gather rope in right hand making sure it will fly without getting hung up on buttons/stick etc.
2)Hold net making sure it hangs straight and there are no kinks in the weighted bottom.
3)Fold net in half the put one corner of weighted rope in right hand along with net.
4)Grab another corner of weighted end in left hand so net will open when thrown.
5)Throw by twisting back and letting go with left hand slightly before releasing right hand. Use a smooth throw and dont go too fast or try to throw too far. This is the tricky part becasue throwing a cast net is 99% timing.

Sorry if this is clear as mud but try some youtube videos. I would reccomend watching guys catching bait in fresh water as the nets are smaller eliminating the needs for crazy folds.
 
Windage-n-Elevation said:
Did and it's all gone. It wasn't the best soup I've had, but he didn't go to waste. I see another snapper out there lately, so I'll modify the recipe a little...except for the 40 grains of lead part.
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Aren't they better if you put them in a freshwater pool for a week or two? I forget what gramps used to feed them, kept them in an old water trough and changed the water from time to time.
 
JimB said:
Aren't they better if you put them in a freshwater pool for a week or two? I forget what gramps used to feed them, kept them in an old water trough and changed the water from time to time.
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Yup...helps clean the junk out of their system. I ain't no turtle expert, but I 'spect it works best when they're still alive. :rolleyes:
 
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